The Black Assembly
by Arileo
Summary: Those who will be known as 'Black', how their separate paths crossed.
1. The Boy, the Girl, and the Rat

I know, I know, there are dozens of 'How Schwarz Got Started' fics, but I've had this idea in my head for over a year and I figured it was about time.

**Glyph-chan**: Wai! Chibi-Shuldig!

And there's that. mutter stupid obsessive muse.

This is my first my first ever Weiss Kreuz fic, please be gentle with me.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Weiss Kreuz; I'm not making any money off of this. If you sued me, you'd get nothing.

_Italics_ -thought

* * *

The Black Assembly

Prologue: The Boy, The Girl, and The Rat

It was cold in the room. It was dark in the room. The Boy could see only dull shadows, black on black. Not that there was anything to see in the room. Four stone walls, a grate in the floor, and the Girl. He wouldn't have known the Girl was in the room with him if not for the brief light when the door had been opened and he was thrust into the room.

They had put him in here as punishment. He liked it better in here. He did not like the grown-ups outside. They were not his parents. They were not his teachers. The said they were his new family. He wanted to go home. He had thought it over and over. He thought it so much that one of the grown-ups started screaming and bleeding. The other grown-ups told him to stop, but he would not obey.

Children who did not obey were taken away. Some were put in the dark rooms. Some were not let out.

The Girl was here because she did not obey. He had seen her on the outside. She was one of the unlucky children. She did not speak German. She did not understand when the grown-ups told her to obey and hit her. The grown-ups did not care. The grown-ups yelled at her to obey, and they hit her, and one day she hit one of the grown-ups back. She hit one of the grown-ups on the head with a piece of brick.

So they sat there in the dark room. They had hurt grown-ups. They had not obeyed. They would not be let out of the dark room. They would not be let out even after they were dead.

Unless they decided to obey.

The Boy had heard one of the grown-ups say that. But he would not obey. He would not let himself die, but he would not obey.

The Girl was moving. Every now and then, she moved. She moved closer to him. He wondered what she was doing. He could not ask her, because the Girl would not understand. And even if the Girl could understand, he could not ask her because one of the grown-ups had hurt his throat. So he thought at her. Her head was different than his. Her thought were scattered around, and she did not think in German. So he thought simple things at her, things that did not need words.

_ Confused. Question? Movement? Why?_

The Girl heard him. She waited a moment, and thought simple things. She could not think at him, but he could listen to her head.

_ One cold. Two warm. Good?_

She did not ask how he could think at her. All the children and the grown-ups could do things like that. Some could think at people, some could see things, some could hear things, some could move things. That was how the grown-up had hurt his throat.

_ Warm good._

_ Warm good._

She was next to him now. Touching, he could see inside her head. Everything was jumbled. Lots of children outside were like that. It was a method of survival outside. But there was something beneath the jumble.

_ Death bad. No death._

The Girl did not want to die. She refused to die. Just like he refused to die. They were the same.

_ Agreement._

It was still dark in the room. But it was not cold anymore. The Boy and the Girl would not die.

They had been in the room a long time. They were filthy and hungry, but they would not die. They had learned how to not die.

The Boy thought at the Girl, and she listened to him. The Boy thought German at the Girl, so she could learn it. The Girl spoke English. The grown-ups had brought her from America. He listened to the English in her head, so that he could learn it.

The Girl could not think at people or listen to their heads. She could touch something and know what the other people who touched it were thinking. She put her hands on the floor and knew everything about the dark room. The moment the Girl knew something she made sure the Boy could hear it in her head.

The Girl touched the wall, and knew that mice came from the cracks in the wall to eat the children who had died in the dark room. They would not die, and instead they waited for the mice. When the mice came, the Boy heard their little mouse thoughts, and the Girl killed them. They ate the mice, and used the little bits left to make more mice come out.

_ Excitement! Good! Good!_

There was a loud squeaking, and the Girl made a giggling noise. She had caught something different.

_ What?_

It had been a long time, but it still hurt when the Boy tried to talk.

_ Mouse/Not mouse. Big mouse…long mouse… Not wall, grate_. 

She did not know the German word for what she had caught. It had come out of the grate. The mice came out of the wall. It was still alive. It squeaked and bit the Girl's fingers, but the Girl did not let go.

The Girl always knew where the Boy was in the dark room, and she went to him. She thrust the big-not-mouse into his chest. He put his hands on the thing. It had a long nose, and a long tail.

_Rat! It's a rat!_

The Girl's thoughts were wild. She liked killing the mice. The Rat would be more to kill and more to eat.

The Girl was wrapping her hands around the Rat's neck, when the Boy remembered something.

He remembered an older boy. The older boy was not from outside the room. The older boy was from outside the outside. From before the grown-ups who wanted him to obey. The older boy had something in his pocket, a white rat that did tricks and made him laugh. He remembered the older boy hugging him, and letting him pet the rat. He remembered missing the older boy. The rat made him remember the older boy. The older boy… his older brother… he had forgotten. He could not forget that!

"No!" The Boy shouted. 

The Girl stopped from killing the Rat.

_Why? Why? Bad? Voice?_

The Girl did not understand why the Boy had shouted at her. He should have thought it. His voice did not work right, and it hurt him to use it. The Girl did not like it when the Boy hurt.

_ Keep rat. Rat smart, mice stupid. Rat-pet-keep-pet. Sad/cold/hurt/alone._

The Boy could not make his thoughts make sense to her, but she pressed the Rat to his chest again. He took the Rat and held it close. The Girl went back to hunting mice, while the Boy thought at the Rat. He thought at the Rat until it stopped biting him and curled up in his shirt. He could hear the Girl's thoughts jumble themselves in confusion, but she did not try to kill the Rat again.

The Rat wandered away, but came back when the Boy thought at it. He taught the Rat things. The Rat helped the Girl catch mice. The Girl thought it was funny when the Rat made a nest out of the Boy's hair. The Boy taught the Girl German. The Girl taught the Boy English. The Rat picked little bugs out of their hair to eat.

The Boy, the Girl, and the Rat lived together in the dark room. They would not die.

Then, the door opened, and the dark room was not dark anymore.

Ende

* * *

Three guesses who the Boy is. grin

Please review!


	2. Two for the Hunt

New chapter up! I know, the last chapter was kinda weird, but this one should make more sense.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Weiss Kreuz or the Schwarz boys. I'm just using them for this.

"blah" speech (German)

_ blah> _-telepathy

'_blah_' –non-telepathic thought

* * *

Chapter One: 

Two for the Hunt

To say Commander Matheson hated visiting the crèche would be an understatement. Most people agreed that the crèche was one of the most displaceable and disturbing places in the main Rosenkreuz facilities. He had to put his mental shields on full strength to just walk near the place, and it was rumored that several empaths had gone insane by being close to the building.

Upon their 'recruitment', most children went directly into the school proper, but not all. Some were considered too young or too weak for Rosenkreuz, and were put into the crèche first to 'toughen them up'. The crèche was, essentially, a small brick dormitory with a large, walled in yard. The crèche's staff were not teachers or caretakers, but prison guards, and vicious ones at that. Those who survived and made it into the school were little more than rabid dogs, psychic rabid dogs. Any child that survived more than three weeks in the crèche was a guaranteed lunatic.

And now here he was to recruit two of said lunatics.

"Oi Woden. What brings you here?" The guard at the gate called.

"Business. Now let me in. I need to speak with Grigori," Matheson said, stating the name of one of the crèche's supervisors.

"Can't," Said the guard. "Ol' Grigori's been dead going on three weeks."

"What happened?"

"One a th' brats got him," the man said with a sadistic grin. "A telepath. Completely fried his synapses. I kept telling the moron that one of these days he was gonna pick the wrong munchkin to molest."

This got Matheson's full attention. A kid who could kill a fully trained SZ agent with only its mind was just what he was looking for. Then he registered the rest.

"Three weeks ago? So what happened to the kid?"

"What do you think? We can't let these little monsters get away with crap like that. He went into the cells."

Which meant that a potentially superb SZ agent was nothing more than a starved corpse somewhere under their feet.

Matheson sighed. _'Such a waste.' _

"Just let me in."

Inside the crèche was even worse than the outside. Ragged children between the ages of three and nine were scattered around the yard. Steadying himself, Matheson dropped his shields just enough to get a decent reading of them

A girl, probably new judging from her fairly clean clothes, sat on the rickety metal swings crying. She looked new enough that she was probably still mentally sound. He scanned her briefly. Swiss, eight years old, weak empathic, scared but stable. Not what he was looking for, but he needed two, and a sane child might counter a less sane one on the team. He put her on his 'maybe' list.

By the time he was done in the yard, his 'maybe' list had ten children on it including the Swiss girl. None of the others were even remotely usable, so she was moved up to 'most likely'; unless he found two that he absolutely had to have.

"Commander Matheson," A tall, skinny woman approached him. "I'm Ilsa, the new supervisor. I was told you were looking for Grigori. Sadly, he is no longer with us, so I hope that I can help you with whatever you needed."

"You can. Are these all the children?" Matheson asked, waving a hand at the yard.

"Probably. A few might be hiding under beds. They've been surprisingly well behaved since the incidents earlier this month."

"Incidents? Plural?"

"Yes." Ilsa nodded. "In addition to Grigori's unfortunate demise, two days prior to that, a clairvoyant decided to crack one of the gate guards over the head with a brick. She was playing tic-tac-toe with the man's blood. However, one can never be too careful. Just before coming to meet you, I sent some men down to retrieve the bodies. After all, children learn by example."

Matheson felt sick as he tried not to notice the tiny skull hanging from a second story window.

Ilsa motioned for him to follow her inside, "Come, and let's speak in my office."

Matheson cursed the woman in every language he knew as he past a pyrokinetic chewing on his own fingers. Such depraved individuals were the reason Rosenkreuz was no longer turning out the quality of talent it used to.

"So what brings the esteemed Comma-"

_SCREEEEEEEEEEECH!_

Any pleasantries Ilsa might have spoken were cut off by the unholy noise.

"What on EARTH!"

"It's coming from the lower level." Ilsa frowned, "But no one's been put in the cells for weeks."

A large man ran up to them, babbling random things.

"Frauline Ilsa! The cells… We went to get them… Still alive!"

"Make sense you idiot!" Ilsa hissed. "Who's still alive?"

"The ones who killed Herr Grigori and Jonz. They should have starved to death weeks ago!"

Matheson's mind went into over drive. Just the very thing he was looking for! If only he could stop Ilsa and her goons from fixing their rather obvious miscalculation. Grabbing the man roughly, he started in the direction of the stairs into the basement.

"Show me."

The basement of the crèche was more of a dungeon. Several thick metal doors lined the stone walls, all barred shut save one.

In front of the single open door a crèche staff member tried to handle two small children. He held one by the remains of its shirt. The other child had sunk its teeth into the man's ankle. Even from the stairwell, Matheson could feel the immense psychic tension. These two had killed at least once each before, and they were about to kill again.

The crèche man shook his leg in an attempt to get rid of the child biting him. A scream of pain echoed in the corridor as the small body hit the wall, but it did not come from the child. The tiny urchin had bitten deep enough to hamstring him. Un-phased by the blow it had received, the bloody-mouthed child latched itself on to the nearest limb, the other leg this time.

Blood started to run down his face as the mental pressure grew. The telepath was going to work.

"Get out of my head!" The guard screamed, and tried to throw the child he held away, but the little urchin actually grabbed onto his arm. Matheson watched in amazement as a large rat crawled out of the child's shredded clothing and leapt at the man's face.

'_Amazing, simply amazing. Innate knowledge of vital points, superb reflexes, even animal manipulation, these are the ones I need!'_

_ THAT'S ENOUGH!>_

The booming telepathic command was too late for the children's victim. He sank to the ground in a heap. Even if the telepath hadn't successfully fried his synapses, the biting child had managed to chew through both his Achilles tendons, and one eye was half gone thank to the rat that was climbing back into the other child's arms.

But Matheson could care less about a member of the crèche's staff. He only wanted the children. Now that is was over, he scanned them briefly, using the information from his conversation from Ilsa to figure out which was which.

The child with the rat was the telepath, and male. The ankle biter was the female clairvoyant. The girl put herself between Matheson and the telepath, hissing in warning.

He removed his jacket and draped it over their heads. Two pair of bloodshot, light sensitive eyes looked up Matheson almost gratefully from under the shadows of the makeshift hood, getting their first good look at him.

_ Guten Tag, little ones. There's no need for any more violence today.>_

He scanned their reactions to his mental greeting. He'd lost the girl at hello, but the boy pounced on the thought like a cat on a mouse. Matheson chuckled at the feel of the younger telepath's talent probing his shields.

"No, you won't be getting into my head," he said with a smile.

_ Who are you?> _the boy demanded.

"Not someone who means you any harm. That's all you need to know." Matheson continued to gauge the duo's behavior. He could feel the understanding of his words dawning in the girl's head seconds after he'd spoken. The boy was translating everything for her automatically. That level of psychic bonding was unheard of in children so young and untrained.

"You should be dead. But you're not. Why?" He did not ask how they'd survived. The girl's thoughts babbling to themselves about killing mice made that part clear.

_ We will not die.>_

It was that simple.

"You don't want to die, eh? The people here will kill you."

_ We will not die. They will die.> _the boy replied.

_ killkillbloodkillblood> _the girl's thoughts echoed.

"You're strong enough to kill a few of them, but not all."

_ We will not die.> _This time it was less forceful. The boy was thinking about it, and knew Matheson was right.

"I am Commander Matheson of the hunter team 'Herne'. I want to offer you a deal. I will take you away from here. No more cells, no more walls, no more guards."

_ Why?>_

"Because the two of you are strong. I need that strength. I will teach you to be stronger. Say yes, and you will come with me. You hunted and killed to survive. Now, you will hunt and kill for me. Say no, and I'll walk away right now, and Frauline Ilsa and her men will kill you slowly."

_ We will not die.> _the boy stated, and the girl's head bobbed up and down in agreement.

"Good."

"Commander Matheson! What's going on here!"

Ah yes, Ilsa. He'd forgotten about her.

Matheson slowly turned around. The skinny new crèche supervisor stared at him in confusion.

"Ah Frauline. You're just in time. Allow me to introduce you to the newest members of Herne."

"What?" The woman's face hilarious. At least, that was what the boy seemed to think.

The girl started singing to herself about blood and scarecrows in English.

"I demand an explanation. One of my staff was murdered, and you just stood there. Now you're talking about new members of your team!"

_ Stupid bitch.> _the boy sent to Matheson.

_ Agreed.>_ he sent back.

"Indeed." Matheson said aloud. "That's what I came here for in the first place."

He removed a letter from his pocket and handed it to Ilsa with a grin.

The woman's face got even more twisted as she read.

"This… this is… it can't be…"

"But it is. It's a written order signed by the elders, giving me permission to remove any two children I choose from your care, and place them on my team. And I choose these two. Effective immediately."

"But this…"

Matheson ignored the stuttering woman, and turned back to the children, his children now.

"Let's go."

He supposed he must have made quite a sight in the yard. He walked out holding the hand of the telepath, who held the clairvoyant's hand, both still huddled under his jacket.

_ Do you have names?>_

There was a moment of mental silence from both. He'd thought as much. That they might have forgotten their ownnames during their imprisonment was entirely likely.

_ Make something up then.>_

The girl's head was immediately a whirl of blood and dead mice and random little girl things. After a moment she focused on an image of a brown bird with a blood red chest. She was very good at making her thoughts clear enough for a telepath to pick up on. A very useful thing, this.

_ Robin Red-breast, huh?>_

With the blood staining her front, it was rather appropriate.

_ And you?>_

The boy was silent.

_ Take your time.>_

Matheson shot a passing glance at the little Swiss girl. She'd nearly made it out. But he'd found these two demons, and by choosing them, he sentenced her to a terrible fate as a crèche child. It was sad, but one of the decisions a team commander was expected to make. Even so, he felt a little guilty.

_ Guilty.>_

"What?"

The boy looked up at him.

_ My name will be 'Guilty'.>_ He stated.

He met the boy's eyes, and found him to be serious.

_ Very well then. Schuldig it is.>_

* * *

Authors Notes: 

Dude! Seven pages in two days! If only I could do this well for English class!

The muse was actually doing her job for once.

**Glyph-chan**- Of course I'm doing my job!

Interesting fact. According to my computer's spell check, pryokinetic is not a word, but hydrokinetic is.

**Reviews: **

**Kojima Ayumi:** Sorry, no running away, but there'll be some rather insane humor starting in chapter two. And as for romance… grins you'll see.


	3. Meet the Family

Slight change of writing style from the last chapter, as seems to be unable to leave my punctuation alone.

Gyah… this should have been up a week ago, but I've been busy with school and work, and then I got caught up in the Pottermania.

**Glyph**: Liar. You finished the new book in one sitting. You're just lazy, and you've been spending your all your money on movies and comics the entire month.

(grumble) it was only four movies. Besides, you're the muse; you're supposed to inspire me and keep me from being distracted!

**Glyph**: You want inspiration? Here's inspiration! (smacks author over the head repeatedly with copy of Assassin & White Shaman 2)

Author's Notes:

1-It is assumed that everyone is speaking in German unless otherwise noted

2-Herne: British version of 'the Horned One', Celtic god of the hunt.

3- Woden: alternate pronunciation of Odin, also attributed to the hunt.

4- I say SZ instead of Esset because that's how I first saw it written in the subtitles on my WK DVDs. That, and because my spell-check ignores it this way.

"Blah"-speech (German)

"/Blah/" speech (other languages)

'_Blah'_ telepathy

I don't own WK, I'm not getting any money from this.

* * *

Chapter Two: 

Meet the Family

The members of the SZ hunter-retrieval team Herne waited in their Rosenkreuz apartment for the return of their commander with extreme apprehension.

Seven days ago, the team communications specialist and back-up telepath had been killed during a mission in Brazil.

Five days ago, they had returned to SZ headquarters in Germany.

Two days ago, the team leader had declared that he would be speaking with the Elders in regards to thoughts he had concerning the dead man's replacement.

One day ago, he'd gotten permission from the Elders to place a pair of untrained children of his choosing on the team.

This morning, he'd informed them that the two children would not be coming from the lower grades at Rosenkreuz, but from the crèche, the Pit of Hell.

"/I can't believe th'boss is doing this to us/" Danny moaned. The skinny blond man was the youngest member of the team at age 20, and the team's 'demolitions and destruction' expert as Rutger called him jokingly. He was also the most distressed at Matheson's announcement that morning. Distressed enough that he'd caused two light bulbs to shatter upon hearing it.

"Calm down Danny," Fatima muttered, examining the crack that had just formed in her coffee mug.

Rutger chuckled to himself.

"It won't be that bad," he said.

"/Oh really? Have you Seen something? What? Tell me/"

"Only that we're going to need lots of towels. And newspapers. And soap. A hell of a lot of soap, which I think I'm going to go get now," The dark-haired precognitive wandered into the apartment's bathroom.

"/Oi! The bloody hell'zat supposed t'mean? Rutger/"

"Leave it. And speak German. I can't understand half of what you're saying with that damned British accent." Fatima ran a hand through her long black hair.

"But the boss is getting kids from… _there._" Danny whined, "One hundred percent loony-tunes."

"It can't be that bad," Rutger called over the sound of running water. "You were in the crèche when you first came here, weren't you?"

"For three days. Worst three bloody days of my life I might add. I got lucky."

The TV turned itself on.

"You exaggerate a lot Danny."

"Not about this I don't. You're the empath Fati, tell me you can walk past that place without wincing."

"I don't go near it at all," she admitted after a pause.

"Precisely my point. Therefore, I am the authority on this subject."

"Here he goes. I don't need precognition to know I'm going to need earplugs," said the voice from the bathroom.

Danny paced the small living room anxiously. "You've heard the stuff about Jackal? Madison Magog? Comedy and Tragedy? Hellmary? All some of the most demented and murderous fuckers to ever grace the ranks of SZ?"

As much as Fatima wished otherwise, Danny was correct in that statement. Every name he'd mentioned was that of one of SZ's most legendary and brutal agents. "Yes. Your point Danny?"

"My point is they were all brought up in the crèche! Hell, I _knew _Madsie in there. He's the one that gave me the scar on my neck!" He jerked a thumb at the three jagged lines on the side of his throat, "Eight years old for chrisssakes! The only way to survive in that place is to go batshit! And now we're gonna have two little Michael Myers in the making sharing our apartment!"

'_They won't be that bad Danny.'_

"/Shite/"

Matheson's booming mental presence overpowered everything else. With a single thought he linked his mind with his three underlings.

'_Were you successful Commander?' _Fatima asked.

'_What do you think?'_ Much to her surprise, the woman could feel a small, unfamiliar set of emotions trying to follow Matheson's mental projection, like a child trying to follow an adult's conversation going on over its head. Which it was, in a matter of speaking. She reached out to gently touch the little mind with her power, only to have it pounce quickly on her, following the trail of her thoughts all the way back into her own head. For a brief second, Fatima was terrified that her mind would be shredded.

'_That's enough of that.'_ Matheson stopped the child from doing any harm.

"Fatima! Are you alright?" Rutger asked. When had he come out of the bathroom?

She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"I'm fine. It would appear that the Commander has acquired a fairly powerful telepath. Much more powerful than Alex was."

'We're just entering the apartment complex. Fatima, please keep a lid on your talent for now,' 

'_Roger.'_

For a minute or two, there was nothing. Then came Matheson's mental voice again.

'_Open the door. My hands are full.'_

Confused, Danny did as ordered.

Matheson stood in the doorway, 6 feet 2 inches of muscle-bound blond Nordic male, with an exasperated expression in his one eye and holding a squirming six year old under each arm.

"These," he said, setting the two on their feet, "Will be the newest members of Herne. The girl is Robin," the child he indicated waved at them, sucking the fingers on her other hand nervously. "The boy is Schuldig." The other child stared unblinking.

Stepping aside, Matheson allowed Herne their first look at their new team members. The children were almost completely covered in dirt and grime and dried blood, what little skin showed through was pale from lack of sun. Their hair was so matted and filthy it was difficult to tell what color it was. The girl wore the torn remains of a pink jumper, random strips of cloth wrapped around her hands, and hole-filled socks. The boy was clad in threadbare jeans and a green and white jersey that was little more than a rag. He was wearing only one shoe, the other foot was bare.

Danny, impulsive young Danny, was the first to react.

"They smell like a damned burial pit. Don't tell me they stopped at least turning the hose on the kids once a week in that place."

"I wouldn't know," the Commander replied. "These two were in the basement cells for several weeks."

"/WHAT! That's not possible. They don't FEED you in the cells. What'd they do for food/"

"/There's lotsa mice./" Robin said matter-of-factly.

"/I think I'm gonna be sick…/"

"Schuldig, Robin, these are the rest of my team. You will be working and living with them from now on. This is-

'_Fatima Antonelli, Daniel Blythe, Rutger Johansson.' _Schuldig sent to them all.

"I thought I told you no scanning without my permission." Matheson glared down at the boy.

Schuldig pointed at Robin innocently.

"And I told **you** to keep your fingers to yourself."

There was the briefest of pauses as Schuldig translated. "Jacket." Robin said at last.

Schuldig projected an image of Matheson placing his coat over the two to shield their eyes.

Matheson groaned inwardly as he realized his mistake. That was back in the crèche. Robin had read through the memories imprinted on the coat, and sent them all to Schuldig instantly. They'd known about Herne and his offer to join before he'd even made it. How many more times would these two surprise him today?

"They need baths, as well as medical. I trust the arrangements are underway?"

"The bathtub's almost full sir," Rutger said, "Shall I call upon Frau LeRay?"

"Yes, and while you're out get-"

"Get supplies," Rutger finished.

Many of Matheson's peers had been surprised when he'd picked Rutger for his team. Precognitives of Rutger's class were generally looked down upon, passed over in team placements for the more powerful seers. He rarely ever had visions, and when he did, they were weak. His power was mostly subconscious, a little voice in the back of his head saying things like 'turn here,' or 'you'll need that'. As a result, Rutger was the team supply man, always getting what his commander needed without being told.

Rutger paused on his way out the door, "No clothes?"

"No. I acquired some clothing for the children yesterday. We shouldn't need any." If they did, Rutger would get some anyway.

"Understood. I'll be back soon."

"And now, it's bath time for baby right?" Danny muttered.

"Yes," Matheson placed a hand on each child's head and directed them towards the bathroom.

Splash

"Hold still!"

"Ugh, this is disgusting. I think we have to change the water already."

Screech

Splash

"/Bubbles/"

"/Bloody fuck! Stop twisting so much/"

"/You said a bad wo-ord…/"

Splash

Giggle

'_I can wash myself!'_

"Does he talk?"

_'Yes.'_

"I meant out loud."

'…'

"No, he doesn't."

Splash

Knock knock

"Herr Rutger requested that we send up additional towels and hygiene supplies."

"Oh thank God."

Splash

"/What in hell is THAT/"

"/You said a bad word again./"

'_Mine._'

"That's the pet rat I mentioned. Remember?"

"When you said pet, I thought you meant some cute little store-bought thing! This is a goddamned sewer rat! It's huge!"

'_Mine._'

"…Right…Okay… Pass the soap."

Splash

Struggle

"If you'd stop squirming there wouldn't be soap in your eyes, so stop biting me!"

Splash

"There's no way we're getting through all these knots."

"Danny, get a trash bag and some scissors."

Squeak

Splash

Sputter

"I'm back. Got a few delousing kits, some lotion and skin stuff. Unfortunately, Frau LeRay won't be able to come till tomorrow morning. And would someone please explain to me I begged an old hamster cage off the lab guys?"

Groan

"Tell me you didn't just say 'delousing' Rutger."

"/Fu-/ Fuck."

'_You said a bad word.'_

* * *

Yeah, ever notice that 'Muse' rhymes with 'Abuse'? Now that mine has stopped hitting me… 

**Glyph**- Leo no baka.

(ahem) As I was saying, review time!

**Reviews**:

**Kojima Ayumi**: Robin's sort of a funny plot device I came up with. She started her existence two years ago as Brad's annoying baby sister. (LOL) I dumped that idea, but kept the basic character concept.

**Arcanas**- Thank you. I can't wait for the rest of Schwarz either. In fact, the story originally started with Farfie.

Next chapter will be up soon (No, I'm serious this time. It's already more than half done. Muse or no muse.)

**Glyph**- I heard that!


	4. The Elders

See? What'd I say! New chapter up in less than a week! Yeah baby! (Does happy-puppy mambo)

**Glyph**- I need to find a new writer.

**Disclaimer**- I don't own Weiss Kreuz.

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Chapter Three 

The Elders

Danny awoke to strange noises. It had been a long night, but finally, Schuldig and Robin had been properly cleaned and dressed and put to bed in their predecessor's old room. The room had been stripped before hand to keep Robin from reading any of the objects, and Herne didn't use the apartment enough for anything to be imprinted on the walls.

It took him a moment to remember that he'd been channel surfing on the TV when he'd fallen asleep. But he'd been watching one of the international stations, so why…?

"/Why is there a giant bear doing a jig on the telly/"

'_Samson does the mambo, silly.'_

"Huh?"

He pulled himself up on the couch, looking down to see Schuldig and Robin staring back at him. They were almost unrecognizable compared to the night before.

With all the knots, filth, and bugs in their hair, Fatima had decided to simply cut it. Both children's heads were now covered in short, uneven locks, Schuldig's being flaming orange, and Robin's dark brown. They wore oversized, but clean tee shirts that the commander had acquired for sleeping. And an enormous amount of Band-Aids had been used to deal with most of the scrapes and cuts the two were covered in. It had been shocking to see how many of the dark stains on their skin had actually been blood, or worse, someone else's blood.

"What are you watching?"

'_Sesamstrasse. Don't you know anything?'_

Danny groaned. Somehow, they'd figured out how to work the TV, and had found the children's programming, and were now seated on the floor to watch, rat and all.

"So you're awake, eh Danny?"

Rutger walked out of the kitchen with a tray.

"That better be coffee."

"It is," Rutger said with a smile, "but not for you. Frau LeRay will be here any moment."

Not wanting to be called on his foul language for the hundredth time by the children, Danny kept his mouth shut.

'_You said a bad word.'_

"What the? Oi, you're not supposed to be reading my thoughts you!" He shouted at Schuldig.

'_Then don't think so loud.'_ The boy replied.

"He's got you there Danny."

Commander Matheson emerged from his room. "I could hear that as well. You need to work on your shielding."

"/I can't win./"

"Ah, she's here."

Rutger put the tray down on the dining table and went to answer the door.

"One of these days you should let me knock first, Herr Johansson."

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Frau LeRay," Matheson said, coming to greet her, "Thank you for coming."

Frau LeRay was one of SZ's best healers, and it was very difficult to get a private meeting with her. The small Haitian woman usually tended to only the most powerful and valuable of talents, but there were those who she would willingly do favors, and out of kindness of all things.

"I only wish I could have come last night," she said in her deep purring voice, "Now, let's get to work shall we?"

Curiosity peaked by the new person; Robin peered around the couch to get a good look. Schuldig was still occupied with the television. A quick scan from Matheson revealed that Schuldig was more interested in the fact that the show was in color, something that he was apparently unused to, than with the show itself.

"Ah," LeRay placed her hands on her knees, "There's one of the little dears. My, aren't you pretty."

"Robin's German is limited," Matheson explained when the girl didn't respond. "She's American."

"Mmm. /What's your name sweetheart/" LeRay asked in English.

Robin grinned, "/My name is Robin. What's yours/"

"/That's a very nice name. You can call me Ms. LeRay. I'm a doctor./"

"/Doctor? Are we getting shots/"

"/Maybe, but right now I'm just here to do a checkup./"

"/Do we get candy if we get shots/"

LeRay laughed at that. Matheson sighed. Of course, she couldn't remember her real name, but she could remember that her old doctor gave out candy.

"I have some Frau LeRay, don't worry," Rutger whispered in the woman's ear.

She nodded, "/Yes Robin. Now, may I meet your friend/"

"Schuldig," Matheson leaned over the couch, "Come meet Frau LeRay."

LeRay shot Matheson a shocked look upon hearing the name. Matheson merely shrugged. '_He named himself.'_

Schuldig got up and walked over to Robin's side.

"Oh my," LeRay whispered. Without the layers of dirt or hair to cover it, the reason for Schuldig's reluctance to speak aloud was made quite evident. The side and front of his neck were one giant bruise.

"That must hurt dear. Would you like me to make it better?"

The children looked at each other, communicating silently. It had become as natural as breathing for them. Matheson had realized the previous night that he could not properly 'eavesdrop' on their mental conversations, it was so deeply ingrained that it was more like one mind talking to itself.

The moment was over almost immediately. Robin approached LeRay cautiously, and placed a hand on the woman's waist. More specifically, on the skirt she wore.

"Robin!" Matheson snapped.

"No, no, it's alright Herr Woden. She's just making sure it's safe. You can't blame them for being cautious," LeRay said. "An object reader, eh? So, do I pass?" She asked the girl.

Robin nodded and waved for Schuldig to come.

Apparently liking whatever memories Robin had read on Frau LeRay's skirt, Schuldig allowed himself to be picked up and seated on the dining room table, Robin curled up at his side with the rat in her lap.

"Now then, let me get a look at this."

Carefully, LeRay tilted Schuldig's head to the side to examine his throat more closely.

"This is the work of a telekinetic." She said after a few moments, frowning. "A trained one. The larynx is partially crushed."

"Can you fix it?" Matheson asked.

"A moment," she took a sip of the coffee Rutger had prepared.

"Now, I need you to hold still dear. This is going to sting for a moment, but then your neck will feel better." LeRay gently placed the fingers of one hand on the center of the bruise and let her eyes drift shut. For a moment, it was as if the air around them had thickened. Then, the bruising started to turn yellow, fading around the edges.

Schuldig blinked in confusion.

"I'm a healer, dear. That's my power," LeRay said softly. "I want him on soft foods only for the next few days. He should be fully healed by the end of the week." She added to Matheson.

After that, she turned to examining the two children properly.

In the midst of flashing penlights in eyes, listening to heartbeats, and checking reflexes, LeRay began using one of her other skills. She was one of the few non-telepaths in Rosenkreuz's employ able to have two completely different conversations, one mental, one verbal, simultaneously. This time she used it to keep Schuldig and Robin occupied while she interrogated Matheson.

_'Woden. What on EARTH happened to these children?'_

"Yes dear, she's a very nice rat."

'_They were locked in isolation in the crèche for three weeks or so. I can't get an exact time. The caretakers apparently expected them to starve to death. Instead, they began working together to survive.'_

_'Those bastards. Treating children so cruelly. What did they do that deemed such a punishment?'_

"Say 'aah'."

_'Murder. From what I've gathered, Robin beat one of the guards to death with a piece of mortar.'_

_'And the boy?'_ LeRay was not happy that a child would call himself 'Guilty'.

"My, my, those are some fast reflexes."

'_He killed Herr Grigori.'_

_'Grigori! Now he definitely had it coming. And it also explains something else.' _There were few people in this world that could earn Frau LeRay's hatred, and Grigori, overseer of the crèche, was one of them

_'Eh?'_

_'I received a message from the Elders as I was leaving my quarters. They want to meet with you and the children as soon as I'm done with my examination.'_

_'Do you know why?' _A meeting with the Elder's so soon. This did not bode well.

_'No. I assume they wish to evaluate the children's powers. See what you've managed gotten your hands on.'_

_'They said nothing of this when I first got permission.'_

_'They probably only just decided. Change is in the wind this morning, and not just for your hunters.' _

_'What happened?' _Rosenkreuz and SZ had been around for over a hundred years. Change was something they did not take lightly.

'_There was an incident in the seer's dormitory at the school. Some sort of group-dream-vision. Something so terrible it caused half to wake up screaming, and the half that couldn't awaken to go into convulsions. One child nearly swallowed her own tongue, another two are still comatose.' _LeRay sighed wearily.

_'Do you know what caused it?' _This was big, something very big indeed. For something to be able to shake the seers…

'_No, though we should have, pardon the expression, seen it coming. There have been five cases of sleep walking in the last week, at least that the students reported. You know how they keep that sort of thing to themselves. And before you ask, I don't know what they Saw. None of the students I spoke to could remember anything other than pain and terror.'_

"Okay Robin dear, now hold out your arm for me."

'_You're worried Frau,' _Matheson thought. _'Worried about the children. I could never understand how someone who's served the Elders for nearly five decades could be capable of compassion.'_

_'Some things, Woden, aren't meant to be understood.'_

Schuldig tugged at the collar of his shirt impatiently. Woden was up to something, but he couldn't read the man's thoughts. He couldn't quite decide what was more annoying, being given a second (though thankfully shorter) bath after Frau LeRay finished her check-up, or that there were people who could shut him out of their heads.

After that, they'd been dressed in clean clothing, and taken to a big castle building that he'd remembered being able to see from the second floor window in… that place.

'_Worry? Thinking of the bad place? Why?'_ Robin asked. Holding his hand, she could feel his frustration easily.

_'The grown-ups are keeping something from me/us.'_

Matheson had even made sure to wear gloves that Robin couldn't read memories from when she held his hand.

'_Grown-ups keep secrets. Maybe ask?'_

_'Maybe.' _Matheson was trying not to take them through hallways that had people, but there were a few surface thoughts that he'd been able to snatch, and Robin's fingers managed to glance the wall a few times. But none of it was enough.

'_Then I will.'_ Robin said.

"Where we go?" She asked in her halting German.

"We are going to see the Elders," Matheson replied.

"Who 'Elders'?" she asked again after Schuldig translated.

"They are our masters."

'_Your masters,'_ Schuldig glared at the man.

"No, ours. Yours, mine, Frau LeRay's, Frauline Ilsa's, and all who live in this place. They own us all."

Pause as the two digested this.

They walked in silence for a bit, the only sounds the soft thuds of their feet on the floor, and an occasional squeak from the rat perched on Schuldig's shoulder.

"We're here.

They stood before a large pair of double doors. Matheson raised his fist to knock, but stopped as the doors opened on their own.

A thin man in a butler's uniform stood at the doorway.

"Herr Commander Matheson," he said, bowing slightly, "The Elders have requested that they be able to speak with the children in private."

"But-" the telepath started, but decided against voicing any complaint. Instead he turned to Schuldig and Robin.

"Go on. I'll be right here. You two remember what I said. Your behavior reflects upon me."

Schuldig just barely caught the desperate thought that followed as they went through the doors.

'_Please God don't screw up and get yourselves killed.'_

"You shall be called upon when the Elders are finished."

The butler directed them though an ornate living room, and out onto a balcony.

Two old men and an old woman sat around a table drinking tea. If not for his powers, Schuldig might have thought they were someone's grandparents. But someone's grandparents would not be able to hide their thoughts from him so well that it was almost as if they weren't really there.

"Sirs, Madam," said the butler, "The two children Commander Matheson appropriated from the crèche."

"Ah yes. Thank you Rolf," the bald man said, waving the butler off, "We shall take thing from here."

When the butler was gone, the bald man spoke again.

"So you are the ones Woden chose. Don't look like very much do you?"

"But that's only to the naked eye," the other man continued. "I can feel the power rolling off of you, and the determination."

"Now, now, little ones," said the woman, "Don't stand there gawking. Come, sit."

She motioned to a bench along the side of the balcony, positioned so that the three could watch whoever sat there without moving their chairs.

Robin was careful not to let her bare hands touch the bench. Schuldig couldn't blame her. Closer to the Elders, he could hear a faint buzzing coming from them that made his toenails curl.

"What are your names?"

"I'm Robin. This is Schuldig," Robin said.

The woman laughed, "Don't use the poor girl as a puppet, 'Schuldig'. Speak in the way you feel most comfortable."

Schuldig and Robin stared at each other. How had she known that Schuldig was telling Robin what to say?

"We know quite a bit. We know that you are more than you seem," said the second man. "We also know that you know more than you've been letting on. How much do you really know about this place Schuldig? You may speak with your thoughts."

'_This is the Rose Cross school. . Everyone has special powers here. When people finish school, they work here, or they work for SZ. This is where they take the kids who are bigger or stronger.'_

"/But we aren't going to school here./" Robin added, "/We're going straight to SZ. Because we're really strong./"

"And do you know what SZ is?"

They shook their heads.

The woman laughed again. "You are smart children. You shall figure it out by yourselves."

"Tell me boy," asked the bald man, "Do you enjoy being able to read thoughts?"

'_What do you mean?'_

"Does it feel good to hear thoughts that don't belong to you? Does it feel good to drink the information swimming in people's heads? I could feel you, trying to flit through Rolf's mind. You were not searching for anything in specific."

The red-haired boy thought about it for a moment.

'_Honey. It feels like honey.'_

"Like honey eh?" The bald man chuckled. "/And you girl./" he said in English, "/You enjoy a different type of honey, don't you/"

Robin had started sucking on her knuckle when they'd sat down. Now she had nearly her whole hand in her mouth, the other curled on her neck.

"/Blood tastes sweet on your tongue doesn't it/"

She looked away, but Schuldig already knew that it was true.

This time all three laughed.

"Such interesting children. And such interesting names you've chosen," the second man said, "So deceptively obvious in their reasoning. Red robin, with its blood stained breast. But tell me 'Schuldig', what is it that you are guilty of?"

Schuldig said nothing, but thought of the girl he'd seen Matheson watching.

"Certainly not something so simple as that," the bald man said, "Someone such as you would not feel guilt for something out of your control. What is you think you are guilty of?"

Schuldig clutched the rat, memories of older brother and the white rat skittering through his head.

"Could it be that you are guilty of forgetting?" the woman grinned. "Or could it be something else? Guilty of murder in cold blood? Guilty of betraying a trust? Guilty of… lying to someone who saved your life? Of using others for your own gain?"

Schuldig's heart skipped a beat. Where were they going with this?

"As I said, we know quite a bit," the second man laughed, "As powerful as you are, you are not trained. You cannot hide your thoughts from us."

Next to him, Robin's thoughts were whirling. Schuldig had stopped telling her what was going on. He was scared. She did not like it when he was scared.

"You cannot possible expect your plan to work Guilty One," the woman's smile grew bigger.

For the first time in what seemed like ages, Schuldig's power failed him. He could only make a choked whimper, as he stared at the three Elder's in terror.

From the moment he'd become aware of the goings on outside his dark prison, he'd been planning. The man who'd come to the crèche would take them outside, past the brick walls, past the fences, past the guards. He would wait until his strength was back, then he'd leave. He'd take Robin of course, because she was useful, and he'd grown so used to her presence. He'd find home. He'd find the older brother with the white rat. He'd find the small little home with the black and white television. He'd find what the walls and the dark room had made him forget.

"Many have tried to escape us," the woman said, "But there is only one way to escape. Death."

'_We will not die!'_

Schuldig leapt from his seat, Robin close behind.

"Foolish child."

The two children suddenly found themselves unable to move their legs, an unseen force keeping them rooted to the floor. Schuldig recognized this sensation from when his throat had nearly been crushed. They had that power too?

"That and more," the woman got up from her seat.

The woman Elder walked around the table to where they stood. Even though she was frozen to the spot, Robin somehow managed to get her upper body between the woman and Schuldig, snarling at her. Schuldig hissed, clutching the rat with one hand and Robin's shoulder with the other.

"Look how protective of each other you are," the woman said softly. "Such violent thoughts in your heads. You feel each other's minds as if they were your own don't you? Such an interesting bond you've developed."

She placed a hand on each child's cheek.

It took all Matheson's will not to sigh relief when he'd been ushered onto the Elder's balcony. Schuldig and Robin sat side by side on a bench, heads down, and looking even more sullen than when he'd left them, but to all appearances unharmed. Only one of the Elders was present. The woman known as Tiamat

"Herr Woden," Tiamat said, smiling. "I would like to congratulate you on picking such fine talents for Herne."

Matheson bowed deeply. "Thank you, Madam Tiamat."

"We have evaluated their powers. Young Robin shows great potential as a Blood Tracker. And dear little Schuldig is the most skilled Manipulator I have seen in several years. Yes, they are destined for greatness."

Matheson's one eye stayed rooted to the floor the entire time, "Thank you again Madam Tiamat," he said.

"We have also taken the liberty of giving them an SZ name. Since they are taking the place of one agent, they shall be considered as one," Tiamat continued. "They shall be known as… Loki."

He was sure he'd kept his reaction to the name inside, but Tiamat laughed anyways.

"You have one month's leave to train Loki as you see fit. Dismissed Woden."

Schuldig and Robin, the newly dubbed 'Loki', didn't even bother to hide their eagerness to leave, scampering out of the room with Matheson striding behind them

Tiamat watched them go, and laughed again.

"Worry not Woden. Our dear 'Loki' shows great promise indeed. One day far from now, you must choose one to keep, and one to let go. It is then they will show even more promise. When you are split in half, will you show your true power? Will you have the ability to survive separate from one another, to become your true selves? Then, and only then will you be worthy of the true names we gave you this day. Only then will you become Bloody Mary… and Mastermind…."

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Author's Notes: 

1-Sesamstrasse: German version of 'Sesame Street', first aired in the 70's. The main character is Samson the Bear, and yes, he does dance the mambo.

2-Loki: Norse trickster god, attributed to having red hair. His exploits include scalping Thor's wife in her sleep, getting his mouth sewn shut by an angry dwarf he'd conned, and being the father of the wolf Fenrir who is fated to kill Odin at the end of days. After orchestrating the murder of the god of beauty, he was imprisoned under the earth by the gods. His escape signals the end of the world

3- Tiamat: Mesopotamian goddess representing primordial salt water. Mother of the Elder gods. She was sliced in half by Marduk, who then made heaven and earth from the two pieces.

Ouch, 12 pages. Now imagine if I'd kept this as part of chapter 2 like it was supposed to be.

Also, check my author page for a sketch of Schuldig and Robin as they appeared in chapter 2.

**Reviews**:

**Max**: You have NO idea how much that means to me!

**Nicole Dyria**: Thank you! And I'll do my best to keep you from having to wait too long.


	5. One Month

Heheheh, this could have gone more quickly…

**Glyph-chan**- Lazy lazy…

Like you've been any help. I'm only motivated now because my mother and her friend are out in the living room getting plastered, and I needed a distraction.

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Chapter Four 

One Month

Matheson watched Danny and the children training in one of the many open yards on the school grounds. The concept was simple enough. Danny had three yellow ribbons hanging from his belt. They looked the same, but one had a small black mark on the hidden end. The object of the training was for Schuldig and Robin to retrieve the marked ribbon from Danny's belt, and bring it over to Fatima within the time limit. If they brought her the wrong ribbon, they lost. If they exceeded the time limit, they lost. If Danny got the ribbon back from them before they got it to Fatima, they lost. If they damaged the ribbon in any way, they lost. The exercise was training for Danny as well. He needed to focus on his shields to keep Schuldig out of his head, and to hone his telekinesis to keep both children off of him without hurting them.

Danny dodged a swipe of Robin's small hands, and nearly missed Schuldig jumping at his waist. He grabbed onto the boy's clothing with his power and jerked the boy away. No sooner had he let go of Schuldig than Robin rolled under his feet, trying to trip the gangly blond.

"They're getting better at their coordination," Matheson said to Fatima.

"Coordinated or not, they've got seven minutes left," Fatima replied, checking her watch. "Though I'll admit, they've come a long way in just twenty-nine days."

Twenty-nine days.

Twenty-nine long, trying days of training Loki.

Twenty-nine days of getting Robin to speak German.

Twenty-nine days of getting Schuldig to speak at all.

Twenty-nine days of being watched warily by other teams.

Twenty-nine days of being ridiculed by other teams.

Twenty-nine days of being visited by Rosenkruez staff, 'offering' their knowledge of children to Woden to get on his good side.

Twenty-nine days of being visited by former crèche children offering Loki their admiration and gratitude on the murder of three crèche staff members.

Danny shouted in surprise.

Matheson and Fatima looked up to see a tall man approaching them. The man wore a long black leather trench coat that had seen better days, and his wild dark blond hair stuck out in various directions. Even from that distance, Matheson recognized the man.

Madison Magog, the Inferno Master.

Madison Magog, one of the most powerful pyrokinetics in Rosenkreuz history. Merely twenty-one years old, and already his bloodlust was infamous. He was the one the Elders summoned when they had no wish to be discreet. A mere thought from Magog and entire buildings went up in flames. His name was spoken in hushed whispers around the facility. This was what everyone knew about him. But there was something else that Matheson and the members of Herne had only recently learned about Madison Magog. Twelve years ago, during an inspection by Rosenkreuz staff looking for more students, he'd tried to tear eight-year-old Daniel Blythe's throat out with his teeth over a scrap of bread. The young telekinetic had blasted the other boy into a wall. On any other day, the two boys would have been left to die, but both Magog's ferocity and Danny's power caught the inspector's eye. He saved not only their lives, but Danny's case, a bit of his sanity as well. It had been far too late for the child who would be known as Magog.

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Schuldig watched the newcomer with curiosity. So this man was the one who gave Danny the scars.

"M-magog. What are you doing here?" Danny stuttered.

Magog chuckled hoarsely. His voice was raspy and dry, permanently damaged by smoke and flame.

"Just here to pay my respects."

He bent down so that he was eye-level with Schuldig and Robin.

"So, you are Loki."

They nodded

"I've heard many things about you."

"Good things?" Robin asked.

"Very good things," Magog rasped.

"And…?" Schuldig prompted. He did not need to read the man's mind to know why he was there. Several times, others from _that place _had come to see them. Sometimes grown ups, agents like Magog, once it had been students who'd snuck out of the school. They came to pay their respects, to give thanks, to say how envious they were. Matheson didn't understand, neither did Rutger or Fatima. Danny it understood a little. In _there_, the grown-ups had the power. By defying that power and surviving, Schuldig and Robin had become heroes of a sort. Schuldig was especially revered for killing Herr Grigori, the boss of the bad grown ups.

"I wanted to meet you. You sound like my kind of kids," he said, "I also wanted to officially welcome you into SZ. You start your first mission tomorrow, don't you?"

"Un-huh!" Robin nodded excitedly.

Magog fished into his pocket, removing a cigarette and putting it in his mouth. "I felt the need to meet you now, while you're still rookies." The cigarette lit on it's own. "Give you a few pointers..."

"Oi… I don't think that's really needed…" Danny started.

"No walls here for you to introduce to my head, Blondie," Magog said with a smirk.

"No, but the ground's nice and soft. I could just skip the wall part and bury you here."

Magog threw his head back and laughed. "That's a new one Blythe!"

"Yeah," Danny growled, "Well these two brats are hard enough to deal with without your 'pointers'. Woden'll teach them good enough."

"Maybe, maybe. But still, I feel like passing something on to the younger generation." Magog turned back to the children. "Now, where were we?"

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Matheson frowned as he watched from afar. Only Rutger's hand on his arm had stopped him from running to intercept Magog before he'd reached Danny and the children.

"What are they saying?" Fatima asked. "I can't read they're lips at this angle."

"It's not anything serious… I hope." Rutger murmured. He cursed his weak talent, only telling him not to interfere with the conversation, but not why.

"It's not Loki I'm worried about." Fatima said. "Danny said those scars on his neck came from Magog. When he told us he felt afraid just remembering it, but now he seems… excited. Magog too."

Matheson sighed and looked at her. "Danny's crazier than he looks. I've told you this before."

"Yes, he can pull some pretty insane stunts but-"

"And picking a fight with the Inferno Master isn't an insane stunt?"

Fatima stared at him, then back at the four in the distance. "What are you saying? He wants to _FIGHT_ Magog?"

Matheson nodded. "Something like that. And Magog respects anyone who'd be stupid or crazy enough to try it. They've had this sort of rivalry since they were children. One of these days… They'll kill each other."

"Sir, we can go over there now," Rutger said.

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"Ah, Herr Woden!" Magog waved as he stood up. "So good of you to join us. I was just getting acquainted with little Loki here."

"And interrupting my teams training session while you're at it. Is there anything else you needed, or is this just a social visit?" The older man asked.

"No, just wanted to say 'Hi' is all," Magog rasped. "Well, I should be off now."

"Yes, please be off," Danny muttered.

Magog laughed. "Then off I shall go. Try not to miss me too much. And… good luck on your first mission Loki."

Robin waved excitedly. "/Bye-bye/"

"And what did you talk about, hmm?" Matheson asked the three younger members of his team.

"/Nooothing./" Robin giggled in a tone that clearly said 'Wouldn't _you_ like to know'.

"Schuldig?"

The redhead glanced at him briefly, before going back to watching Magog's retreating form.

Matheson considered digging through their minds for whatever secret they were hiding, but decided against it. If it were something really important, Danny would tell him.

"Oh!" Schuldig exclaimed. "I forgot! Fatima, the time?"

Fatima checked her watch. "30 seconds left, I think you failed the exercise kids, but there were extenuating circum-" Schuldig thrust a yellow ribbon with a black 'X' on one end in her face. "…stances…"

"/Bloody hell/" Danny quickly checked his belt. Upon seeing all three ribbons still safely tucked into his belt, he then checked the small knife holder on his ankle, where he'd put the real ribbon. "/How…? When…/"

"Right before Magog showed up," Schuldig said with a smirk.

"We did it!" Robin cheered. "Treats now?"

"You said we could have ice cream if we won the game," Schuldig said. "And we did."

Matheson heaved a sigh. "I did say that, didn't I? Well, come on."

The members of Herne made their way back to the domestic complex, without mention of the visitor they'd had.

Schuldig smiled to himself. Matheson hadn't tried to find out what they'd spoken with Magog about, and he wasn't about to tell him. Not about the pyrokinetic's 'advice' or the little gifts he'd given them. Robin played happily with her new penknife behind Woden's back, while Schuldig contented himself with the silver lighter.

* * *

Author's Notes- 

Fatima: Arabic meaning 'She who weans'. Originally a Muslim name, it is also sometimes used by Catholics in connection of the town of Fatima in Portugal, where the Virgin Mary supposedly appeared before three shepherd children in 1917.

Magog: A name appearing in the Bible usually alongside the name 'Gog', whether they are individual people, tribes, nations, etc. is unclear, but they are usually considered to play an important part in the Apocalypse. Gog and Magog are also the names of to giants that are considered to be traditional guardians of the City of London.

Hopefully, the next chapter won't take seven months. And I heard something about not being able to reply to reviews in the fic?


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